Kids Have Very Good Things to Teach Us

Last night, my daughter Heather and I (pictured at left) drove together to the airport to pick up our dear friend and house guest Jill. I love these times in the car with my girls, as it provides us with precious time together to talk about whatever runs into our minds.

As we zoomed down the 710 freeway, this conversation took place:

Heather: "Dad, you know the kid in school with only one arm... (this is a wonderful boy who, through some minor birth defect, is missing the lower portion of one arm)....I was just thinking, Dad, how would he drive a car?"

Me: "Well heck, with one arm, I suppose" (to which I then demonstrated driving with one arm - please don't tell the CHP!) You know, people with handicap's find amazing ways of compensating"

Heather: "Yeah, he is a great kid, they even have a special jump rope for him at school; he can hook one end of it over his shoulder, and he can jump rope just fine"

Me: "That is very cool, I would love to see how that works."

We then drove on for a while, and Heather wanted to play one of the CDs her Mom has in the car, and she went to this song, which is my favorite. I told Heather it was, and she said, "Its my favorite too." I silently thanked God for Heather, I still cannot believe she is my daughter. I love my girls!

The deeper message here for me is, that even in the midst of messy church behavior, Christ is Lord, He is honored by our worship, and we need to continue to seek His face.

I am a sinner. I disappoint those I love often. I cannot make it through this life on my own power. I hope I can have a life that learns to adapt, so I too can hook one end of that jump rope over my shoulder, and jump rope just fine.

What should John Roberts say to the Senate?

President Bush's nomination of John Roberts indicates that the Senate Judiciary committee will be having a partisan free-for-all in the coming days.

How should John Roberts respond to questions from Senators? Look here for an interesting model.

In summary:

"Ginsburg’s hearings demonstrate that there are many valid reasons why a judicial nominee may decline to answer the questions posed by individual senators. Justice Ginsburg declined to answer, or gave only generalized answers, to a vast number of the questions she was asked during her confirmation hearings. Despite this, Justice Ginsburg was confirmed by a vote of 96-3, which suggests that the Senate recognized her reasons for caution as valid and appropriate. In light of this precedent, the Senate and current judicial nominees should carefully apply those same reasons for caution (discussed above) to establish a common understanding of the rules for a confirmation hearing. This understanding will help in avoiding much of the delay and conflict that has become part of the confirmation process."

Life is Short, Lets Make a Difference

Tonight, my wife and I finished watching this, which we had recorded several weeks ago from PBS. It is amazing. Really. Buy the DVD, you will be very glad you did. You Pastors who stop by this blog, this series would make wonderful grist for a discussion of how the church can be effective in the world. Interesting note - not one of the "New Heroes" discussed on PBS had any visible form of Christian faith attached to their work. Think how much more effective the Gospel might be if tethered to social action in developing countries.

Today, as I was running errands in the car, I thought about how many times I use the phrase "life is short" in describing to others why some stuff in life is just not important, like staying later at the office, making more money, or focusing on unimportant details. And the events of the last week or so with my parents brings this all into sharper focus. Will we have lives that make a solid difference, that lift others up, and that leave our corner of the world brighter and more full of God's grace? I sure hope so.

Part of the journey for me is to figure out what that would look like for a guy like me. I own a small commercial real estate appraisal and consulting firm in Old Town Pasadena. How do I use my business, the money it generates, and the experience I have to do something unique and lasting for the Kingdom? Perhaps helping with land use decisions in the developing world, is this possible? Suggestions are welcome! Also, look here in the coming days, to see what interesting things my friend Tod might have to say about all this. Lets link hands, and figure out what God might be calling us to do.

De Nile Is Not Just a River in Egypt

The past several days have been odd ones for me. As I have noted here, my elderly parents have recently required a greater amount of my time and energy than I have been used to in the past. This investment of my life into theirs will likely increase in the weeks and months to come. This is difficult for me, as I grew up in a home where painful things were not discussed, where problems were minimized, conflict was not dealt with in a productive way, but, mind you, everything was always "fine". I have been in a state of denial for some time that this season of life was approaching.

I was raised in the 60s and 70s in a time where "dinner parties" were the big social event, and I played with Matchbox cars, Etch-a-Sketch, and electric football (where the little men jiggle like mad, and then fall over). My Mom wore a moo-moo when the guests came over, and served a "gourmet dinner", as my Dad called it. Much barbecuing occurred on the back deck by the pool. "Cocktails" were consumed prior to dinner, and after about age 15, I was the bartender. Only child bartender, imagine that.

Yesterday, my folks and I met with the social worker who is assisting in our care-giving, to discuss what comes next. We agreed that care will 8 hours a day, every day of the week. Someone will be there to watch over them all day, until they have completed dinner and are heading off to bed. Dad is worried that we will not let him drive any more, and I am not sure what to do about that yet. Mom is more amenable to moving to an assisted living facility, but Dad is not there yet, and may not ever be.

As I drove to my parent's home yesterday, I prayed that I might become a provider of grace, mercy, and peace to my folks. I hope that was accomplished. I am sure they are feeling stress and worry that they cannot speak of. After my 47 years, I have learned that they are not from a very communicative generation. I hope I can be more honest and freeing to my own girls as I age. My sweet wife purchased this book earlier in the week for me, and it has been a source of comfort. Another source of meaning has been this. Another book I have been thinking about getting a copy of is this.

I am loath to admit that all of these changes have had me thinking (is it selfish?) quite a bit about where I am in life, and suddenly realizing my own mortality as never before. Some day, these sad things will be happening to me. However, my prayer is that they may happen in an easier way, a more joyous way, and perhaps even a way filled with laughter. Is that possible? I hope so.

In the end, this life is a mystery. I want to embrace that, and be present in the moments of struggle and pain for Mom and Dad. This is what Jesus would have me do, I am confident. A touch to someone who is wounded, a listening ear to the woman at the well, a confidence that the Kingdom of God lies ahead.

This is Why I Drink...Moderately

I feel vindicated by the Wall Street Journal. For those of you wondering how I do it, this article illustrates is why I am a more humble and generous fellow than the average bear.

Please drop a comment if the link does not work, and I will go have a drink with the Editors and straighten this all out.

Making A Difference - One Pump at a Time

The IDE Foot Pump (flowers not included)

First off, sorry for the huge paragraphs and mega font....Blogger is misbehaving today....

Here in South Pasadena we have been blessed to befriend some really wonderful people. I have posted briefly on the charms of our little town in the Big City here. One of the best blessing we have had is getting to know Jim & Debbie Taylor and their children. We met them about four years ago, have become good friends, and observed as they have begun and adventurous journey toward doing something remarkable - one farmer at a time - half way around the world.

Debbie, is a native of Myanmar (Burma) and has worked in Myanmar since 1995 as a consultant to the United Nations Development Programme and The World Bank. She has over 20 years of experience in developing countries, working in both Cambodia and Indonesia. She holds a masters degree from Harvard University in development economics and public policy. Jim has extensive experience in both the private and public sectors. Prior to launching the IDE-Myanmar program he was a senior executive in a global software company serving the food industry and in a Fortune 400 agri-business company. His development experience includes work in Cambodia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and India. He holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and a masters degree from Harvard University. So there you are; two very smart and compassionate souls, and wonderful marriage partners.

Two years ago, the Taylors packed their belongings, leased their house on the next block over from our house, and took of to Burma, with their 12 year old son and 16 year old daughter. Jim and Debbie are now working in conjunction with International Development Enterprises (IDE), manufacturing, marketing, and selling a small foot pump (pictured above). The pump sells to rural farmers for $13, and can increase annual income for a small farmer more than $150 per year.

You should know this type of development work has a good track record. In neighboring Bangladesh in the 1980s, IDE came across a locally-invented treadle pump with great promise. IDE helped to refine the pump design, initiate a private-sector supply chain, and actively market the pump to smallholders. The result was a phenomenal growth in the treadle pump market with dozens of manufacturers, over a thousand dealers, and over 1.5 million treadle pump users to date. The rural economy has been lifted to the point where many farmers are now investing in diesel pumps, as they can afford to even further increase investment and productivity in their farms.

Two people on the next street over take a risk, move thousands of miles away from home, and begin to make a difference, one pump at a time. Kingdom stuff.

Google Earth Rocks!

As a commercial real estate consultant, the new Google Earth is amazing beyond comprehension. This software will take you anywhere you want to go on the planet in seconds. Download it today, play with it (waisting about 2 hours easily), and enjoy a truly remarkable product of the Internet age. I am awaiting "Google Universe" next.

Chosen, Blessed, and Broken

From the words of Henri Nouwen:

"When Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, he summarized in these gestures his own life. Jesus is chosen from all eternity, blessed at his baptism in the Jordan River, broken on the cross, and given as bread to the world. Being chosen, blessed, broken, and given is the sacred journey of the Son of God, Jesus the Christ.

When we take bread, bless it, break it, and give it with the words "This is the Body of Christ," we express our commitment to make our lives conform to the life of Christ. We too want to live as people chosen, blessed, and broken, and thus become food for the world."

Please Lord, let me be like this.

Henri Nouwen 1932-1996

Kindergarten Sunday School Connects with Real Life

My father, Roland, who you will learn about more in the weeks and months to come, is 85 years old, and served in the 5th Air Force during World War II as a B-17 pilot. More later on that.

This past Sunday was my turn to teach the Sunday school lesson to the 11 o'clock Kindergarten class at our church. I have virtually no memory of Sunday school growing up, as my parents were far more "culturally Christian" than evangelical. That is much of the way it was during the 60's and 70s, at least for me. I learned yesterday that Kindergarten lessons are not silly, and really do connect directly to real life.

Anyway, the lesson was on Genesis 39 and 40; and Joseph's character and behavior, first as a slave for the King, and secondly as a slave in prison. The theme of the morning was, in kindergarten parlance, "I will never get tired of doing what is right". I told the story of Joseph, using my wonderfully cooperative daughter Heather as an example - running errands all over the room (with a smile on her face). I think the kids enjoyed it.

But as my pastor friends have told me, sometimes the sermon is really for yourself, and not the intended audience. And so it was (and is) with me.....

Over the last several months, my Dad's general health has declined significantly, to the point where he and my Mom (84 years old), require much more emotional involvement, time, and care. I am so very blessed to be standing in this with my wonderful wife, who is one of the most compassionate people I have ever met, and with an outstanding social worker who specializes in senior care. As an only child, I don't know what I would do without them. We will work as a team to provide my folks with the best care possible. I hope to share my journey with you here, in order to journal my own thoughts, and to illustrate God's faithfulness. His presence gives me hope, purpose, and compassion to care. That conviction is not something I come about by my own strength. Indeed, His Grace is Sufficient.

It is going to be a tough road, not smooth and easy, as I would prefer. But I know that this road is where Jesus wants me to be. I am not alone in this journey.

And so, pray for me. Pray that I would "never get tired of doing what is right!"

If you have had a similar journey, let me know.

Attitude is Important

This is too good to avoid sharing, with images like these. (HT to Hugh Hewitt) Interesting how that website makes me think about this. And to follow it up, I was struck today by the thoughts of Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal, who connects the dots together in an interesting way about the relationship between the London bombings and other foreign policy issues.

Also, if you want to understand a bit more of the pluck of the British, rent this movie. It has long been one of my favorites; perhaps because it illustrates the character of a people and of a family experiencing war in a way that I have never had to face in my 47 years. I have heard much of war from my 86 year old father though. More on that another time. For more direct from the London source, visit here.

And finally, to get a sense of perspective of all this madness, take a long look at this.

Grace and Peace, and prayers for the people of London.

United We Stand with the British

Today was not an easy day. Unfortunately, now July 7th will have a similar, although possibly different meaning to the people of London that September 11th does to us. We will never forget.

Two things to read and think about. First, this, which is quite scary to me. Al Franken needs to stick with comedy. And next is this, an example of the spirit of the British people, who all deserve our prayers this night.

Lord, hear our prayer for the people of London.

Boy, Aren't We American's Swell?!

Over the past several weeks, there has been much fomenting in the Blogosphere regarding the One Campaign, the G8 Conference, and Live8.

Not to be the guy who is left out, I am taking a brief break from my church musings (I might still have more to say, but I am not sure) to give you a measure of cognitive dissonance over the whole African aid issue.

To start off, David Smith seems to be all in a lather about the One Campaign, claiming that corruption is at the root of all evil in Africa. He is probably right, but sometimes I have a hard time reading because of this log in my own eye, you know?

Then we have Doug Payton at Stones Cry Out commenting that Americans are really generous. I have read this before, I believe in the Wall Street Journal, and other places, and this concept makes me feel strange. We are generous, isn't that nice of us? Come to think of it, we are also clean, brave, thrifty, and reverent (well, sort of), we Americans. Please reference the graphic above, as it is self congratulation time. Oh wait, I forgot to mention that we Americans are also humble. As a matter of fact, in scientific studies, Americans were found to be 15 times more humble that any other major population occupying a land mass north of the Equator.

Alright, I am sorry, the sarcasm is getting too thick. But in response, I want to share with you this (HT to Tod Bolsinger) which for me, captures what really should be happening. I just have to quote my favorite paragraph:

Why appeal to government when the church is a far better resource? John L. and Sylvia Ronsvalle, authors of The State of Church Giving Through 2001, note that if American Christians gave 10 percent of their income to support the work of the church, it would provide $143 billion to equip the church to do what she is called to do. Why ask for a measly $25 billion when the American church has more money and can directly support those private groups charged with addressing the greatest needs in the most effective ways? This approach allows governments to focus on things like building infrastructure and securing peace and justice.

So, is the church a better resource? What you say? No?! What is wrong with us self-congratulatory American Christians? When will the church stand up and become something more than an institution, but rather a living, breathing vessel of the transformational Christ? When will we stop sitting on our wallets and open them? Perhaps then, those around us who sit on the sidelines and giggle at our little church silliness (as I have been recently discussing, and have been a part of myself) will begin to see a community of Believers that actually can and do make a difference? Oh, and if that is not enough, you might want to get a hold of this (it is amazing), because it seems there are a lot of non-Christian folk who are doing work that is more redemtive than a lot of church folk can often do.

Stepping down off my soap box now. Thanks for letting me rant.

Remembering the Fallen

On this day after the 4th, we all need to remember the quality of character of the men and women who protect our freedom and work to bring freedom to others.

Take a couple of minutes to listen to the story of a fallen hero. If you have dry eyes afterward, you are a tougher soul than I.

God Bless Maj. Steven Reich, his family, and his new bride. May He grant them Peace beyond understanding.

A More Perfect Union or Perfect Society?

Today is the 4th of July. I our town we have a "Festival of Balloons" Parade, which is an event that involves a whole lot more people; kids, seniors, parents, and whoever wanders into the parade route than actual balloons. The photo to the right is of a two-story tall inflatable Lady Liberty, who wobbled down the parade route today, being towed by a guy riding an ATV. It was great. My wife and I sat with our dog and watched everything go by - in South Pasadena the joke is that about half of the town is actually in the parade, and the other half cheers them as they go by. It is small town Americana at its best, in the midst of a huge metropolis. What a gift each day here is.

Today, we celebrate the Declaration of Independence, as our nation is 229 years old. Ronald Reagan once said, "You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done."

It took our little nation more than a decade to get from the Declaration to the Constitution; written in the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia. The first line of the US Constitution reads:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

We have come a long way since that hot, sticky summer on the cobblestone streets of Philadelphia. This stuck me as I read this wonderful, haunting article by Angela Beise, who is a missionary in France. Indeed, we must be very careful with our freedoms and with the technologies we are unleashing on the world.

I have a friend named Molly. She is turning 8 years old this month. She lives with a wonderfully loving family near us, dear friends we have know for more than 20 years. Molly loves life, and never seems to hold still for a moment. She is always the center of attention, and she loves to make people laugh. Molly has Down Syndrome. I hate to think what all of our lives would be like without Molly; of how much less color we would see.

Sometimes I wonder, are we really still working to "preserve this last best hope of man on earth"?

Happy 4th of July!

I'll Take Jesus Door #3, Monty!

Over the past several days, my friends Rob Asghar and Tod Bolsinger have been discussing the same thing, on different yet parallel tracks. Rob has been discussing, as fairly as I think is possible, the history of profound failure in leadership at Hollywood Presbyterian. Tod is beginning what I hope will be a longer discussion of what the church should really be about. You really need to review what these two have been saying.

Tod's recent comments have me thinking about what we expect church to be, and about something I mentioned briefly before. The picture Tod paints of today's church is something I have heard him mention before, of church as some kind of "spiritual smorgasbord", or buffet table, in which you pick the things you want, and leave the stuff you don't like on the table. We tend to demand and then take from church what we want, and leaving the rest behind, including things that might bring so many more people to relationship with Christ and His Kingdom. It gives me the willies sometimes; "Give me Jesus Door #3 Monty, I will take Promise Keepers, Joel Osteen, and hanging out only with people that look like me!"

Maybe in many ways, this is what is wrong with the American church, and why the vitality and charisma of the church here seems so lacking compared with the explosive growth of the church in the third world . Just look at what happened to the church in Western Europe; and I wonder if we might be heading that way as well. Perhaps this is what has been wrong with Hollywood Presbyterian, and why it has gotten itself into such a mess. Too many trees, and not a good view of the forrest. It was "church as usual", or "church for a select few", or too oriented around the personality of a well-meaning but overly controlling pastor. We American church folk need to reexamine the way we do church, the lives we lead, and the core mission of this Jesus fellow that we follow.

However, if we do this, really follow this Jesus, its likely to be messy. He is going to ask us to love the unlovely, to do the hard thing, to live with less possessions, and for our lives to be less self-centered. I am the first to admit, as an only child, that I don't like some of these ideas. Lord help me where I am weak. Help us all.

My Happy Place and a Tour of Hollywood

We just need a good therapist

I have been very busy with work and family things this week, but two of my good friends have started in on further discussions of why the church lets us down, and how we let each other down within the Body of Christ. I often let other people down, including my family, so I know how this feels.

Tod Bolsinger's comments on his "happy place" left me thinking of my favorite comic therapist (pictured above) while Rob Asghar has some of his most lengthy posts ever about all the pain, confusion, and faults of a once-great church, not to mention a newspaper column that is absolutely the most equal-time piece I have seen yet about the way we humans behave in conflict. Well done, Rob!

I might have more to add at some point in all this, but for now, you are left in good hands with these two very good men.

Keeping a Sense of Perspective

For the past couple of days I have been blogging on the rather narrow topic of what I think is wrong with the church I have attended for a number of years. Then today, I stopped by the blog of Keith Smith, and felt a strange chill - as my silly little life was put into sudden perspective.

We need to understand our place in the world, and the potential that we have to affect real change. Our lives can make a difference, in very tangible ways. This is what should really haunt us (play the video!), and make us think twice about what we think is important. Really.

Lord help me from my narrow little self.

Doing The Right Thing, Even if it Hurts....A Lot

Gosh, how could this church have any problems?

As I noted recently, the greatest tragedy in the sad church split that I have been discussing recently has been the inability of those in leadership to really focus on the things that are important, namely the unity of the church around the Lordship of Christ. The ordination vows in the Presbyterian church include the following question of those being ordained to pastoral ministry :

"Do you promise to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church? "

As I have learned, "unity and purity" can mean different things to different people. By way of example, let me share with you a true story:

A pastor I have know of and have respected for many years was, a number of years ago, pastoring a solid and growing church when a faction that didn't like his leadership tried to force him out, by taking a vote of "no confidence". The pastor was stunned and heart broken. As he prayed about what was best for God's temple, he decided that it would really be best if he resigned. Though he felt sure that he could defeat his foes, and also had the support of the local Presbytery, he also believed that this would seriously damage the church over the long run. His career, his income, his reputation . . . none of these mattered as much as the church he loved so much. So he resigned.

Now this is upside-down logic if I have ever seen it. In corporate life, or secular culture, this pastor was what might technically be described as "whimping out". I mean really now, what a chicken, to cower in the face of detractors. Egads. Pathetic. I trust you sense my sarcasm.

What I have witnessed in the past several months at my church, has been the opposite of this story. "Spin" has been the order of the day. Excuses, and blaming, and conspiracy theories have taken the place of humility, repentance, dialog, and a pursuit of unity. It is all very, very sad. And I fear that to those looking in from the outside, this is just another example of the hollow claims that Christian folk can live in community that is any different from the rest of the world. I would hope going forward that we can all, including myself, do better than this. By the way, I have feet of clay that reach up to my neck.

For deeper thoughts than I am capable of on the topic of church/Christian conflict, go here and here.

Too Much Stuff

This week, I came across a haunting article in the Wall Street Journal about the self storage industry. It seems that "whatever the strains and shortcomings of the U.S. economy, we Americans have a whole lot more stuff than we used to. How much? So much that there is enough space in rentable self-storage lockers in the U.S. for each man, woman and child to stand on a spot 2½ feet by 2½ feet, with room left over. The U.S. has 1.875 billion square feet of self-storage space, according to the Self Storage Association.:

I did some quick math, and found out that this is 43,044 acres of land, or 67 square miles. This is horrendous!

Now, to be clear, about 40% of self storage space is occupied by businesses, but this still leaves all of us a square of 1.875' x 1.875' to stand in, or 40 square miles of self storage space. Again, from the Journal:

"....most folks who rent storage space use it to store furniture, kitchenware, clothing, photos and paintings, holiday and seasonal items, books and magazines, towels and linens, the trade association's survey found. About 9% said they store food in them. (Maybe that's what happens when you buy too much at Costco or Sam's Club.) And it isn't just rich folks who have an abundance of belongings: A third of the units are rented by people with incomes under $30,000 a year."

Now really. Something about this is very bizzare to me; and makes me think about this. Now of course, I actually have a storage unit - because the attorney's are in charge of our lives, and I have to keep all my business records for five years. But we don't have a personal storage unit, as my wife and I have decided that if we ever need one, we simply have too much "stuff", and need to give it away to those less fortunate.

But this quote, was to me the scariest of the whole article:

"Forget about two- or three-car garages and finished basements -- today that's just not enough space for U.S. households overflowing with excess furniture, camping gear, sporting equipment," Joseph Quinlan, chief stock-market strategist for Bank of America Corp., said in a note to clients the other day. He even suggested that the ability to put all that stuff in storage units is a "critical prop to global growth" because consumers will keep spending only as long as they have a place to put their purchases. "If U.S. consumers run out of storage space," he quipped, "the global economy is doomed."

Can you hear the creepy science-fiction music in the background. What kind of a society have we created?

A Response to Poor Reporting

The Eye of the Storm

For the last two posts I have been discussing errors in the media, and more specifically, errors found in this article, by one of America's most respected Christian periodicals, Christianity Today.

As I mentioned, I contacted the writer of the article, and then had the opportunity to correspond via email with the Editor of CT, Mark Galli. Although he started out by indicating that CT "stood by their story", a rather over-used cliche (I have found recently) in publishing, as we corresponded more, his stance softened, and I found a man with a kindred spirit for the health and vitality of the church. As it turns out, Mr. Galli is a former Presbyterian pastor, who has also served on committees in the church that have had to confront the same kind of dysfunction we had been struggling with at Hollywood for some time. So, in a way, the Editor of Christianity today, "gets" the struggle we are going through.

After encouragement from Mr. Galli, and some thought, prayer, and counsel on my part, I have submitted a letter to the Editor. I am reproducing it here in whole, as it will likely not be published until the later in the summer, due to some kind of odd publishing cycle at CT. In a way, this is my best effort to sum up the problems at our church, in as short, simple, and fair a manner as possible, in order to attempt to publicly set the record straight.

Dear Editors:

I am writing in response to your article concerning a “power struggle” at Hollywood Presbyterian church. As a member of this congregation for more than 20 years, and an elder, I was disappointed by your superficial reporting. I have spoken with the writer of this article, who relied upon highly biased input. His primary source was the church’s former director of communications, who was fired by the Session after he publicly renounced the church and its current leadership.

To be clear, the problems at Hollywood have never been about worship styles, or an evangelical congregation in a mainline denomination. Our painful struggle has long been focused on our Senior Pastor, who has alienated key members and leaders for some time. To be fair, the complaints against the Pastor have been from a minority of members, but this minority is comprised of solid evangelicals who worked closely with the Senior Pastor for many years (both elders and staff).

Supporters of the Senior Pastor have chosen to politicize these problems, by accusing the Presbytery of a “liberal plot” to overthrow the church leadership. This is a baseless charge which has distracted many from the real issues. Our local presbytery has known of our problems for some time, and acted to attempt to reconcile a church that was very sick well before the situation called for their involvement; last year’s $840,000 deficit was just one symptom of a deep dysfunction in the church leadership.

Sadly, the pastors in the eye of this storm have not had the dignity to stand up and call for the unity of the church around the person of Christ. Their silence, combined with their efforts to defend themselves, no matter what the cost to the church, have created a far greater divide in our church. This lack of focus on the person and mission of Christ in our church is the greatest tragedy in this long and painful episode.

Steven Norris

And so, there you have it. I was limited to about 300 words, and I used 325. As, I said, the inability of our pastors to stand up for church unity and for the centrality of Christ is the saddest part of all of this. I want to say a bit more about this point soon; stay tuned.

To me, the second saddest part of all this is the way even the Christian press has fouled up getting the story right. As a result, my perception of "journalistic professionalism" has forever been changed.

Truth, or Hearsay

Laundry out to dry

As I noted below, the dirty laundry of our church is now out for everyone to see. The problem is that only a few pieces of the wash-load really belong to us. It seems that certain items in the load got very mixed up during the "spin" cycle of our church drama these past few months. I will try, over the next couple of posts, to outline where things have gone wrong in the press.

Christianity Today and Telling the Truth
The title of the article reads "Power Struggle Rocks Hollywood Presbyterian", on the Christianity Today website. As a member of this congregation for more than 20 years, and an elder, I was disappointed by the superficial reporting of this, the most respected Christian magazine. For many years I have relied upon the reporting of Christianity Today (CT henceforth) to keep me informed of developments in both the Christian and contemporary culture.

This was an article I took personally, and a topic about which I know a bit more than, well, the author. And so, I took it upon myself to locate the author, and express my dissatisfaction with his work. I spoke with James Jewell on his cell phone in Atlanta, where he works for a media company as a "stringer" or freelance writer for CT. As it turns out, Mr. Jewell was kind and thoughtful during our 10 minute chat, and listened well to my thoughts. I have been treated kindly by those at CT that I have come into contact with. More on that later.

Unfortunately, Mr. Jewell relied upon highly biased input. His primary source was the church's former director of communications, who was recently fired by the Session, after he publicly renounced the church and its current leadership.

At the end of our conversation, Mr. Jewell offered the thought that he may not have gotten a complete view of both sides of the story. Indeed, he did not. Over the past several months, as our laundry (much of it not really ours, as noted) has been shown to the public via the press, I have found myself remembering the case of Jayson Blair at the New York Times, and the recent case of Newsweek apologizing for a major reporting error. After some thought, it seems the American public might be right in their mistrust of the "fourth estate". I find myself now wondering whether just about anything I read in print is really 100% true.

What makes me the most frustrated in all of this? I feel very disappointed that the supposed apex in Christian news reporting cannot do the proper research and fact checking to tell the story of a complex and sad church split. I also wonder what happened to working toward excellence. Whether it was deadline pressures, poor fact-checking, or just relying on a bad source, the damage has been done. And in this case, it is damage to a situation in our church that already has all the markings of a major traffic accident.